1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a personal watercraft (also called a PWC) that planes along the surface of the water, and more particularly, to a storage structure for the personal watercraft.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal watercraft have been gaining popularity in recent years for sports and recreational purposes. Generally, the personal watercraft is constructed to move forward by increasing the pressure of water drawn through a water intake, provided on a bottom of the body of the watercraft, by a propulsion pump and ejecting the water rearward from the body. The size of personal watercraft has been increasing in recent years, with the development of three-seater craft as well as single-seater and two-seater ones, and a storage area size has been increasing correspondingly.
Storage areas are formed, for example, behind the seat of the personal watercraft and between the seat and the handlebar, and also in front of the handlebar. The storage area in front of the handlebar is formed so that it is exposed when, for example, the hatch cover mounted swingably in front of the handlebar is opened.
Articles to be stored in this storage area include relatively large size items, such as a cooler box and a collapsible beach parasol, and relatively small size items, such as gloves and goggles. Since the storage area is increasing in size so that it can accommodate a large size article, such as a cooler box, the hatch cover that covers the storage area is also increasing in size. Further, the storage area is located in a relatively low position. The prior art relating to this type of storage area includes the storage area disclosed in the Publication of Examined Japanese Utility Model Applications No. 7-45428.
In the prior art, therefore, the rider has to dismount from the watercraft to load or unload an article into or from the storage area.